Traction of surfaces, and especially of wet surfaces is often critical to safety in numerous environments, and many devices and methods are known in the art to increase traction. Most of the known devices and methods will fall into one of three conceptually different classes. The first class can be characterized as devices having relatively large surface modifications to thereby trap a portion of a foot or to provide a significant curvature of the surface to reduce sliding motion. For example, DE 41 27 973 teaches a bath tub mat with large indentations that engage at least a portion (typically heel) of a foot. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,779 teaches surfaces with large rounded nodules and drain channels, and US2008/0216228A1 teaches a compressible top layer made from soft foam material with channels and raised elements to drain water. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,729 teaches a substantially non-slip, non-abrasive surface that has polysulfide coating layer with relatively large solid elastomer particles.
While such devices and methods typically reduce the incidence of standing water, and with that the risk of sliding, grooves or otherwise shaped recesses will typically lead to puddling of water. Moreover, such surfaces are almost entirely unsuitable for most commercial and sporting uses. Still further, traction of such surfaces will decrease when the surface is wet, and soap or other detergents will often negate all benefits of such macro-structured surfaces.
The second class can be characterized as devices having relatively small and abrasive surface modifications. For example, GB 1141073 teaches multiple enamel layers that fuse to form a friction surface where refractory granules form an abrasive layer in the final product. Alternatively, sand or other abrasive materials can be added as a friction layer in a polymeric carrier, which may be overlaid with a plastic layer as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,344 and WO 87/00019. Unfortunately, such devices typically exhibit significant wear and tend to lose friction relatively fast. Worse yet, such surfaces often lead to abrasive injuries, especially where the friction layer is not covered. On the other hand, where the friction layer is covered with a polymer layer to reduce injury, most of the benefits tend to disappear, especially when the surface is wet.
To overcome difficulties associated with plastic surfaces, a third class of devices employs cloth or other textile materials to increase friction as, for example, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,943 and 6,946,183. While such devices typically have desirable friction characteristics when wet, retention of such devices is more difficult. Moreover, such devices can often not be retained in wet state for prolonged periods of time without cleaning as the wet textile materials tend to accumulate mold very quickly.
Alternatively, non-slip materials can be temporarily applied to a surface as described, for example, in WO94/19414 where mixtures of a polymer and a petroleum or synthetic wax or silicone are applied to a surface. To increase retention and friction of the material, one or more tackifier agents can be, especially where water is present. While such compositions typically retain their tackiness in the wet state due to their generally hydrophobic nature, they will often attract soil and other undesirable items, especially over prolonged use. Moreover, such surface modification is often not practical, especially in bath tubs, showers, or public places (e.g., deck of a boat or jet ski).
Moreover, and regardless of the manner of increasing traction, all or almost all of the currently known traction devices fail to provide a simple and cost-effective option to include a decorative finish that is protected from the user and environment, let alone a customizable finish using high-resolution photographs or digital image files. Thus, even though numerous devices and methods for increasing friction are known in the art, all or all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages. Consequently, there is still a need to provide improved methods and devices that are customizable, and have excellent traction, even in wet environments.